MIAMI — FIU's softball program battled to the end in a midweek contest with visiting and 25th-ranked UCF on Wednesday, falling 3-1 to the Knights at Baptist Health Stadium. 

The Panthers (22-6) took on the Knights (24-7) out of the Big 12 conference for a Wednesday morning battle of the top programs in the Sunshine State. FIU trailed 3-0 after five innings, but mounted a late rally in the seventh, scoring one run before bringing the winning run to the plate in the form of Janelle Martinez with two runners on. Martinez drove the ball to the wall in center field, but was ultimately retired for the game's final out, as the Panthers fell by a 3-1 final score. 

In the seventh, Kaleena Downing walked to get the rally going with one out. Jensen Luke then singled for FIU's second hit of the day to put runners on first and second. After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, Riley Silvers put the ball in play and a resulting Knight error on the throw home gave the Panthers their first run. With runners on second and third with one out, Kally Meredith and Martinez had back-to-back fly-outs to end the game. 

J'dah Girigorie (5-3) pitched effectively against a strong UCF offense, allowing just two earned runs in seven innings. 

Of note, FIU was no-hit for the first 5.2 innings before Isabella Perez delivered the Panthers their first hit of the game. Perez also had an excellent day behind the dish, throwing out three UCF base runners in the first three innings. 

UP NEXT
FIU travels to New Mexico State this weekend, March 20-22, for a CUSA series with the Aggies, Friday-Sunday. Links to NMSU's radio stream and live stats will be available on fiusports.com. 

BAPTIST HEALTH
The 2026 FIU Softball season is presented by Baptist Health, The Official Sports Medicine Provider of FIU Athletics.

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